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"Is she fit to sign, doctor?" — practical ethical issues in assessing the competence of elderly patients
Author(s) -
Finucane Paul,
Myser Catherine,
Ticehurst Stephen
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1993.tb137916.x
Subject(s) - beneficence , competence (human resources) , autonomy , psychology , medicine , engineering ethics , nursing , social psychology , political science , engineering , law
The competence of elderly people to participate in medical decision‐making is often called into question. This article explores the concept of competence as it relates to elderly people, and outlines the guiding ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence. Practical guidelines are offered on how competence can be assessed and some avoidable pitfalls are highlighted. (Med J Aust 1993;159: 400‐403)